A Pawn in His Game
by bluelily3
Summary: An old one-shot with the oh-so-original theme of Vegeta and Bulma's "morning after". Bulma discovers that Vegeta knew what he was doing all along, and she feels like she's been played.


AN: I just found this story buried among other things I've written in the past. I thought parts of it were good enough to submit, although I did change to ending. Try not to scoff too much at it's unoriginality.

Bulma woke up with the sun shining on her face. Hadn't she closed the curtains last night? Drowsily, she wrapped the blankets more tightly around her. She must've kicked them off in her sleep again. She felt cold and very tired, like all of her energy had been drained. Suddenly she blinked and shot up in the bed. Oh, no... Rapidly, not really knowing what she was doing, she ran her hands over her skin. The skin on her arms, her chest, her legs. She teased her curled hair. It always got messed up in the morning, right? But the thoughts and scents overwhelmed her. It hadn't been a dream. Sure, she had had dreams about him before, and they had kissed, but last night? Oh... this could be bad.

She walked slowly and unsteadily over to the mirror and gazed at her reflection. She didn't look any different, but... _It all happened so fast, I can't believe... And did I leave him, or did he leave me? _She thought. _Well, I am in my own room. But I hadn't been... I fell asleep next to him, and then... He must've put me here! _The thought of Vegeta depositing her in her own room sent mixed feelings through her. First she was angry. How dare he? But what would it have been like if she had woken up face to face with him? Or in the guest bedroom that he was staying in, and he was gone? She would have just come back here anyway. As she gathered her things together to take a shower, she also realized that she was still naked. Her parents lived in another part of the house, but what would have happened if either one of them was walking down the hall to see Vegeta carrying her, naked, to her room? She blushed when she realized they wouldn't care that much. They liked Vegeta, and they knew that she only did things that she wanted to do. _They would know that it had been my choice. I always have it my way; I'm so spoiled. _And as she got into the shower, she realized that a part of her didn't want to wash him off. Her whole body smelled like his skin. She had felt him with all of her senses. She had seen him, even in the dark. His eyes, burning with lust. She wondered how much of it he had really _felt. _Even if it had been as intense for him, he had never lost control, not for a moment. Bulma knew that he could destroy her so easily, or just hurt her, but he hadn't. She couldn't understand how he could have been so intense, yet almost carefully gentle at the same time. She remembered Yamcha, and how he was so sweet and loving in bed, but he acted like she was a china doll that could be broken at any moment. She felt different now. She felt stronger, unbreakable, and she didn't want Yamcha's kind of love. She wanted a fierce desire, a protective force. Someone powerful. Vegeta had been just that. He had felt like the embodiment of all men. He was man to the core; pure, untamed man. She shivered just thinking about it. She could have stopped him if she hadn't wanted it, or liked it. He was a thousand times stronger than she, but he listened to her when she raised her voice. There was an ounce of trust there. She was sure he would have stopped. He may have been ruthless before, but he knew what he wanted, and he _had _wanted it. He didn't want her to be a lifeless bore, and she remembered how he had responded to her interaction. He needed her to touch him, he needed her to cry out. She blushed as she remembered how she had been wrapped around his body, nearly begging for mercy. She was sure that he had enjoyed every second of it.

Bulma had been with one other man, but she could tell that he had never had another woman. It wasn't like he had been unsure, he _had _known what he was doing... but she just knew that she was his first. As she went through every instant in her mind, she almost had to stop as a fierce desire to have him again washed over her. He had kissed her like in her dreams. He was good at it, even though she knew hers were the first lips he had kissed. She wasn't sure if Saiyans kissed, but it was different than a human kiss. She couldn't explain why, but with his mouth on hers she had almost felt like he was reading her thoughts. Yes, underlaying all of the passion, she sensed that there was some sort of ulterior motive, but she knew him enough to already know that about him. She longed for and embraced his calculating mind; it was so much like hers. Bulma smiled and shrugged as she turned the water off. According to her, Vegeta could do whatever he wanted. She wouldn't stop him. She was in love with him, and she didn't care about anything else. She didn't even need him to love her back at this point, she was just happy that he had wanted her, in that brief moment in time. But now, would he make himself scarce? Where was he now?

When Bulma went downstairs, she found the dining room table laden with food, but oddly enough, it was untouched. She thought that Vegeta would have had an enormous appetite after last night. Strange... She looked up to see her mother walking towards her, and before she could even open her mouth, her mom asked: "Where's Vegeta, dear?" Bulma was almost too stunned to answer. Did she know? Had they...? But her parents had been so far away there was no way they could have known. Bulma just rolled her eyes to hide her feelings.

"How should I know, Mom? He's probably training, as usual." Mrs. Briefs shook her head.

"He always eats before he goes out there, dear. I haven't seen a wink of him. Maybe he's just tuckered out, the poor thing. Well, he needed his sleep, I suppose." Bulma was walking away when she heard the last part of that sentence. Could he really still be sleeping?

She walked up the stairs calmly until she reached the guest room. She put her ear to the door, but she couldn't hear anything. Didn't he snore like any other man? Yamcha snored loud enough for two men. _Maybe he isn't here. _Then her heart skipped a beat. _Maybe he already left! _He _had _said something about training in outer space after he had asked her a few questions about Goku. That's how it had started between the two of them. She pleased him by saying that he should have no problem getting as strong as, or even stronger than Goku. He got closer to her then, a mischievous smile on his lips and a gleam in his eyes.

Bulma blinked away the thought and opened the door a tiny crack, peeking in. He was still there, laying on the bed, sound asleep. _I guess I'm not the only one feeling deprived of energy. But could it really have taken that much out of him? _

She walked softly into the room and closed the door behind her. As she approached the bed, Bulma realized there wasn't a trace of fear in her anymore. She had gotten as close as she ever would to Vegeta's body, and he hadn't harmed one hair on her head. If he didn't care about her at all, he would have ignored her completely. She remembered the last moment of the night, before she had fallen asleep, when he held her tight to his body with just the right amount of strength. She felt something in him then, something that didn't want to let her go, something that needed her. And for just a second, before she fell asleep, she had felt his body tremble slightly against hers. Maybe he felt that she loved him, and he accepted it. Had anyone ever loved him before? Where were his parents? Did he remember them? There was so much about him that remained a mystery.

Bulma sat down on the bed, and even though he shifted, Vegeta kept sleeping. She watched him for awhile, noticing how he lay flat on his back, totally exposed, save the blanket that covered the lower part of him. At first she thought it strange that he should leave himself so exposed, being a fighter and all. But then she realized that no one on this entire planet was a threat to his power and strength, so it didn't matter. Even in this vulnerable position, his hands were still curled into fists.

Before she knew what she was doing, she bent over and reached for his hair. She noticed last night that it was thick, but soft. His hair in itself was one of the things about him that made him different. It stuck up on its own accord like Goku's. Bulma liked the way it felt. She continued to run one hand through it, marveling at how strange it was.

Vegeta suddenly awoke with a jerk like he was being attacked, and, on instinct, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist with enough force to crack the bones. Bulma let out a cry of pain and surprise, and a small amount of fear crept back into her heart. His eyes riveted to her, he slowly relaxed his grip. She snatched her hand away, clutching it to her chest as pain coursed through her. But Vegeta showed no remorse.

"_Never _sneak up on me like that! Foolish woman! I could kill you in one blink of an eye, and you wouldn't even know what hit you!" He shot up in bed, already closing himself off to her. Tears sprang up in Bulma's eyes. She started to realize that she had been a pawn. She felt so stupid, and mumbled those thoughts through her tears.

"I've never...done anything so stupid...in my entire life. I shouldn't have..." The tears fell, no matter how much she fought against them. She didn't want to cry in front of him; she knew he would make fun of her. Vegeta was standing up on the other side of the bed, his back to her. Bulma wanted to leave, but she couldn't summon the strength in her legs. She felt defeated and lost.

"I shouldn't have... I'm sor-" Her words choked her, and she couldn't find it in herself to continue, knowing she was really digging a hole for herself. He slowly turned to face her, and she braced herself for the onslaught of sarcasm. To her surprise, he _did _smile, but not harshly. It held the mischievousness of the night before.

"Don't apologize for last night. I'm far from sorry. I have never-" He cut off what he had been about to say, and shook his head to clear it away. He stood there for a moment, and then he startled her by sitting down and then crawling towards her. He locked eyes with hers, and she forgot everything else around her. She read a message in them; it was as clear to her as if he'd said it.

_Hit me, kick me if you want. I don't care. I'm not sorry. _And she knew that she wasn't sorry, either.

Her wrist throbbed painfully at her chest, and she wasn't sure if it was broken or not. Vegeta's eyes fell on it, and his hand stretched toward her. She flinched away, and he grunted with frustration.

"I didn't do it on purpose, woman. Let me see it." Reluctantly, Bulma let him hold her wrist in his hand, and she prepared herself for more pain. But he only examined it carefully, causing as little pain as possible.

"It doesn't feel broken. You should be fine," he announced gruffly. He let her wrist go, and with the other hand, he briskly wiped the tears from one of her eyes.

"Don't cry over me, it's foolish." Before she knew it, he gave her a rough kiss that ended as quickly as it began. Then he leaped up and went over to his shoes. He was already wearing the shorts he trained in. Bulma could see he was moving on. The kiss he gave her seemed dismissive, like he was saying good-bye.

"I'm going to train up in outer space for awhile," he said, lacing his shoes. "I could be gone for months at a time, so don't wait for me." Before Bulma could say anything in protest, he interrupted her.

"Don't do anything foolish, like fall down the stairs. Take care of your body, and don't ignore the appetite you'll be getting."

Bulma was dumbfounded. She couldn't even think of anything to say. Then, when she had summoned the strength to ask him what on earth he was talking about, he turned and looked at her, his eyes full of meaning. Then he arched an eyebrow arrogantly and marched out the door, back straight with his head tossed back. She thought she heard a chuckle.

Long after she heard the capsule ship take off, she sat on his bed staring at the wall. What had he meant? Falling down the stairs? Why did he care about how she treated her body? And what was this about an appetite? Then it hit her. A baby. She might be... but how would he _know? _No men knew the exact moment they were conceiving a child. How could he? But she wouldn't put anything past him. He was an alien. There were no limitations. She stood up then, starting to get angry. She really _had _been his pawn! He knew it, the whole time! He had used her to make a legacy for himself!

Then, like a flash, she remembered Goku's departing words to her, not too long ago. "Have a healthy baby!" She sat down on the bed again, her thoughts swirling like a whirlpool. She was his pawn. After awhile, she stood up, and shrugged. Maybe having Vegeta's baby wasn't the worst thing in the world. Maybe she could do this. If he ever came back, she'd show him that she could be independent. She'd raise a child that he could be proud of. Nodding to herself, she skipped down the stairs, then slowed down, remembering. When she came to the table she sat down and started eating. So be it, then. She would take life as it came, as resilient as her parents had taught her to be.

AN: This ending seems a little abrupt and unrealistic, but Bulma really does seem to move on quickly and act casual about stuff in her life. She's a little like her mother that way. Oh, well.


End file.
